And they saw the lights of the business district, where Jake
Vodell was preaching to a throng of idle workmen his doctrine of class
hatred and destruction.
The Interpreter's manner was in no way aggressive when he broke the
silence. There was, indeed, in his deep voice an undertone of sorrow,
and yet he spoke as with authority. "You were driven here to-night by
your fear, Adam Ward. You recognize the menace to this community and to
our nation in the influence and teaching of men like Jake Vodell. Most
of all, you fear for yourself and your material possessions. And you
have reason to be afraid of this danger that you yourself have brought
upon Millsburgh."
"What!" cried the Mill owner. "You say that I am responsible?--that I
brought this anarchist agitator here?"
The Interpreter answered, solemnly, "I say that but for you and such
men as you, Adam Ward, Jake Vodell could never gain a hearing in any
American city."
Adam Ward laughed harshly.
But the old basket maker continued as if he had not heard. "Every act
of your business career, sir, has been a refusal to recognize those who
have worked with you. Your whole life has been an over assertion of
your personal independence and a denial of the greatest of all
laws--the law of _dependence_, which is the vital principle of life
itself.
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